NZ's favorite son

On the outskirts of Nelson is the birthplace of what many call New Zealand's most famous person. He was Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear pyhsics. He discovered the concept of radioactive half life and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1908 for his work on radioactivity. He was the first to split the atom in 1918 and discovered and named the proton.

There is a very well done memorial constructed at his birthplace in Brightwater, just outside Nelson. Rutherford spent his formative years schooling in Nelson and is a graduate of Nelson College (high school to us North Americans). After his university studies in New Zealand he traveled to Canada and eventually the UK to take prominent positions at prominent universities. It was interesting reading about him to find out he had been passed over for a few different scholarships during his youth in favor of others. How foolish that must have made some people look after he achieved what he did.

He is buried at Westminster Abbey in London near other scientific giants. It seems a shame he is not buried here in New Zealand.

punctures

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we bought 2nd hand bikes shortly after our arrival and we use them for most of our transportation around town. Yesterday, I repaired our 9th puncture since we arrived. To put this in perspective, in the past 15 years at home, I have experienced one flat tire. I don't understand what the problem is here, but cycling luck has not been on our side. Yesterday we went on a ride with our friends John and Jane and we ended up at a favorite coffee spot in a beautiful setting. Photos of Scott doing a little repair work and the 4 of us enjoying our coffee break. Video of the Nelson hills from Monaco peninsula.

beaches, bikes, and vineyards

We went for a bike ride on Sunday with our friends John and Jane. Our route included a ride on the forestry road on a nearby island called Rabbit Island. This is a popular public greenspace destination used for swimming, picnicking, cycling, etc. We rode 20 -25km on a variety of surfaces including this very bumpy forestry road. That part was challenging for us since our bikes do not have any shock absorbing capabilities. After our ride we found a vineyard cafe where we were able to take a break over a cup of coffee. These vineyard cafes are dotted among the vineyards around the Nelson region; very quaint. Our day was topped off by a meal at the home of our gracious friends.

the beach at Tahunanui or gotta bucket hat for my bucket list

Nelson has a beautiful beach on the Tasman Sea. The waves roll in gently and the beach is very gradual and seems to go on forever. We walked along it today when the tide was out and it seemed a massive place. Besides the incredible beauty of the place, another aspect is there are very few people who are there. There just aren't that many people here and places like beaches are not over-run the way we often see beaches in the USA or Europe.

By the way, it's not as windy as my camera makes is sound in the video.

city of trees

The founders of Nelson apparently had a love of trees and made an effort to plant unusual types in many of the public spaces in town. The "church hill" park that surrounds the Cathedral that is a focal point of the center city has many different varieties of mature trees that are very unique. These range from California Redwoods and Sequoia to Himalayan Cedars and fan palms among many others. Some are nothing short of gigantic and most are majestic. Many varieties are ones I have not seen before with branches or leaves of shapes I am not familiar. I think the founders were wise to plant such trees in their town. It is a long term perspective that is required when planting a tree. It is likely that the one who plants the tree will not enjoy its beauty in maturity. I am thankful for whoever is responsible for planting the trees. They add immensely to the feel of the city and provide a lovely setting on a summer day.

public art

Nelson is blessed with much public art. I don't pretend to be an art expert or even a novice for that matter. However, I like it, some more than others. It usually makes me smile and reflect on what the artist might have been thinking. What were they trying to say? What reaction were they looking for? I don't think there are any right or wrong answers about public art. But I do think communities are better off when it's there. I've included a couple photos of public art in Nelson.

worse than mosquitos?!!

While New Zealand is a stunning place, we have encountered one little drawback. It is only little is size. It's referred to locally as the sandfly. Brenda and I refer to them as worse than mosquitos! I know that may be hard to believe but the bites itch more and for a longer period of time; dreadful! Wikipedia reveals this legend: New Zealand sandflies (which are actually a different insect and a type of black fly)have a native Māori legend wherein "the god Tu-te-raki-whanoa had just finished creating the landscape of Fiordland, it was absolutely stunning... so stunning that it stopped people from working. They just stood around gazing at the beauty instead. The goddess Hinenuitepo became angry at these unproductive people, so she created the sandfly to bite them and get them moving". (Women...)

These sand flies were able, according to another Maori legend, to revive the dead hero Ha-tupatu.

Let's just say we are not enamored.


Photos of Brenda (blue)and our friend Jane (orange)at the Waitangi day street market 4 Feb, 2012, a panoramic view as I sit on our deck enjoying my coffee this morning, and a little cafe we stopped for coffee on a bike ride with John and Jane.

parting the waters

We stumbled upon some work in the local river the other day. They were installing a conduit underneath the river bed and it was an amazing thing to watch. Basically, they blocked up the river, installed a couple culverts for the water to go through, then dug up the river in order to place the conduit in. The conduit is to hold cables that I assume will be used for data and information transfer. A sign of our age.

We went by the same location a couple days later and you can see how it looks after the work was done. Aside from some scarring on the river bank, you wouldn't know anything ever happened. I'm sure the river bank will be green again in no time.

1st picture is after, 2nd picture is before.

float like a butterfly...

The summer weather is beginning to heat up and the locals are beginning to mutter a bit about the heat. As I've mentioned before, the sun is extremely intense here. It feels different than it does at 45 degrees north latitude. I don't know the scientific explanation but assume it has to do with the thinness of the ozone layer near the south pole. In any event, even though the sun feels hot, it is amusing to hear complaints about the heat when a light jacket is required in the morning and the temperature barely gets to 75F in the heat of the day. At home, we'd call that a beautiful spring day!

Similar to home, Kiwis love their dogs. They are frequently seen with their owners and seldomly on leash. I must say they are very well behaved and I have not had one loose dog chase me either running or on my bike. They seem to be voice-command trained and are very obedient.

I managed to get stung by a yellow-jacket a couple days ago. We were on our bikes and one got tangled up between my jacket and my arm and took it out on my arm. He won the battle but I won the war. Thankfully, I don't usually react too much to bee stings. Mind you, it did hurt and my arm did swell a bit but I think I've recovered now.

Photos of a dog hitching post outside a grocery store, a panoramic view of Nelson from the port, enjoying a coffee with our friends John and Jane overlooking the estuary of Tasman Bay.